


The Ground Sees the Skies Fall

by lorale_fontana



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - The 100 (TV) Fusion, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-03 11:28:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15817980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lorale_fontana/pseuds/lorale_fontana
Summary: The 100 fell, just not the ones you remember.





	The Ground Sees the Skies Fall

She walked past Wells to the mouth of the dropship. She looks down onto the dirt, never trusting her eyes, and yet.... She takes a small leap forward, the ground holding under her feet. A moment of silence to see what would stir at their arrival. A second later, someone coughs, another snickers, and soon 99 were whooping and cheering! They had made it to the ground! They were prisoners no longer. Alive! Clarke bends to the ground to sift the dirt through her fingers. No tingling, no sudden onset of symptoms to indicate that the effects of radiation were immediately dangerous. Soon everyone was running out to the ground. She looks around and is about to panic and tell everyone to get inside, but she holds her tongue instead. She walks back into the ship to see what could be salvaged from their near-crash. She finds a dozen boxes of food rations, along with fifty personal-sized tents. She could breathe a little easier. They would be able to eat and take shelter for the time-being. But what happened after the boxes ran empty? They needed to see the terrain. Clarke found a kit she recognized from her Earth-study classes. A compass, a map, and a couple of items her father had taught her to use. Time to get to work. 

Dammit. Damn. Damn. Damn! Damn!! They were in the wrong spot. The Ark shot them down on a completely different mountain! She needed to get started and see if they could survive the terrain. She put together a pack. Just as she was about to walk out of camp, she suddenly stopped. She looked across the tree line. There was... something in the air. She couldn’t explain it. The back of her neck tingled as she closed her eyes and shuddered quietly. Earth was not the Ark, it didn’t feel safe, there was no way of knowing what was out there. And it felt like... something was watching her. “Clarke!” She looked back and saw Welles with a pack on his shoulder. “What are you doing?”, she asked harshly. 

“Well, you didn’t think you were going out there alone, did you?” She shrugged and shuffled away as he drew nearer. Welles sighed, “Look, I know I’m the last person you want to see right now, but if we really are on the wrong mountain, then we need to get supplies for everyone as soon as possible.” She could agree with that, she didn’t like him, but she respected that he just wanted everyone to survive Earth. She nodded. Three more people sidled down to them with their own packs. Well, at least it wouldn’t just be the two of them. They walked past Clarke into the forest, Welles following behind. She pulled her pack straps tighter and followed after them, the sensation of being watched never leaving her.  
They had been walking for hours, throats burning and the sun beating down the sweat on their faces and backs. If they weren’t careful they might be in danger of overheating. After a few more miles a sound came. It was such a foreign thing, an endless roar that had them scrabbling to hide. But when nothing came at them and the roar remained they decided to check it out. It was a waterfall. They had found a water source! Clarke couldn’t help but join in their smiles as they drew closer to the edge of the water. “Yes! Water! Actual moving water!” Clarke chuckles lightly, not truly believing their luck. Until everyone starts stripping down. “What are you guys doing?”, she asked, stunned. The girl -- her name might have been Mary -- answered, “We’re going for a swim.” The other guys smile and look her over, apprehensive that she’s stripping down to only a small shirt, a bra, and her underwear. Monty and Jasper strip down quicker. Welles looks at Clarke and shrugs, “When are we ever gonna get the time to do this again? Besides, now that we know there’s water here we can take it back to camp for the rest.”  
It had been some time since Clarke had seen Welles without a shirt on, and while it stirred some old feelings, she was still wary of him. She sat down on a rock and took her shoes off, the sun beating down on her back. But she would remain stubborn for a moment longer. She watched them as they cheered, swimming and playing like children. Like the children they were, not sent down to Earth as a science experiment. She looked down at her wrist. She sighed and proceeded to take her layers off. She hoped the watches were waterproof. In any case, what did it matter? Whether the watches worked, the water was safe, or that they needed to find food and better shelter. She needed this moment for herself. She had taken off her shirt and was about to unbutton her pants when she heard a twig snap in the darkened thick of the forest. Her hands stilled, head whipped up to the sound. She peered into the trees. Another potential disaster waiting to occur. She held her breath for a moment, and realized the irony in doing so while waiting for something in the dark to snuff her out. Better to feel the water now than never at all and die a second later. She continued to unbutton her pants and shimmied to get them off her ankles. “Whooo whoo whoo! Go Clarke!” She glanced over her shoulder, seeing that they finally noticed her getting into the water. All the boys looked on appreciatively, Welles letting his mouth open slightly before he looked away. She smiled shyly and quickly plunged into the water. Her mouth formed a quick “O” and she let out a gasped laugh. Colder than space, and yet in perfect balance with the rays of the sun. She had never swam before, comparing the sensation of floating to that of her anti-gravity training. She had to move her limbs more. Water was lighter and more freeing than gravity. She took a stab and dived to the bottom. She held her breath, steadily pumping her legs and letting her arms propel her forward. Her ears popping, she startled and began to climb back to the surface. When she broke through, she inhaled loudly and exhaled a content sigh. She had swam further than any of them, letting the sun float on eyelids before she began to float on her back. She let slip a quiet smile, loving this roaring water more than anything she had ever loved before. Earth would soon begin to feel like home.  
She slowly opened her eyes, watching the sun glitter against the waterfall, a single dark figure standing at the top. 

She blinked and looked once more, the figure never wavering. Her agitation grew and she began to swim rapidly back to shore. She swam past the others as they started to settle on the river rocks to sunbathe. She took a breath, “Did you guys see that?!” She looked back at the top of the waterfall. Empty. No sinister darkness against the light of day. “Were you guys watching?....”, her voice trailing off. Did she imagine it? She took a step backward, never taking her eyes off the waterfall, leading her to trip and fall. Her arms flapped as she landed in Welles’ lap. Stunned, she couldn’t move, until his arm began to close around her middle. She pushed his arm away and pushed off of him, her eyes speaking to an angry wound that would not be washed away by a single, good afternoon. He had the good grace to look away, ashamed. “Sorry.” She went to her pile of clothes, spread out, and sat under the sun, hoping she would dry soon so they could begin to pack up and leave. She grew cold with fear. Was the figure real? Was it just her imagination playing cruel tricks on her? She hoped so. She drew her knees to her chest, willing the sun to burn away the cold inside her chest. 

 

They didn’t look like Ice Nation, and they weren’t wearing anything he’d seen in Polis or Tondc before. He took a handful of dirt and closed his eyes before he began to smear it on his face. They were... alien. Foreign. They could not be from any tribe he’d seen before, so they could -- He moved up closer, following them without sound. They obviously had no idea of how loudly they were traipsing through the woods. He could probably follow them blindfolded. It was only when they reacted to finding the ((waterfall)) that he knew: they came on the falling star. They came from the sky. Children who did not know the first thing about survival if their current attitude was anything to go on.  
Three boys and two girls. They barely looked like anything more than children when they raced off into the water. He scoffed lowly. Idiots. Did they even bother to check what was swimming in the water first? He scanned the river’s surface and the people running into it.  
Then, his eyes landed on the last of the two girls who seemed reluctant to get in. She had sat back down. Smart girl. He took a moment to study her, to watch her hair fall over her face as she watched her friends enjoy the cool waters. He had to admit, just watching them made him feel heavy in his jacket, as he tweaked a lose thread hanging off his collar. He looked back at her.  
She was not bad to look at, her golden hair framing her face like a mystery, something more than human. What did Indra call it? The gods surrounded themselves with beautiful beings. ((Angel?)) Beautiful was on the tip of his tongue, and when she took off her shirt, he sucked his breath. Skin unmarred by war, untouched by sullied hands. A few steps close enough to touch, her hands on her waist, he took a step forward -- *Snap!* Her head snapped his way. He pulled back and hid low in the brush. Waiting. She was waiting, too. She looked away and shook her head. And proceeded to wriggle out of her pants. He couldn’t look away. And then he shook his head to clear it. She was only a girl, a girl who fell out of the sky. They were going to get themselves killed by drawing this much attention to themselves with all this noise.  
He should have backed up and headed in the opposite direction. He should have hauled his kill and taken off already. He adjusted his pack, readying himself for a silent departure. One more look couldn’t hurt.  
When he looked back, she wasn’t there. He craned his neck for a better look. Her friends were now drying themselves against the sun’s ray on the rocks, but she was nowhere in sight!  
He jerked in surprise! No one else seemed panicked, but she wasn’t there anymore. How could she not be there?! He dropped his pack and ran along the river, hidden by the darkness of the trees. He began to climb the rocks to spy from the top of the waterfall. He could spot her there if she was being eaten by a ((seasnek)). He stood over the edge, looking frantically for gold-hair. He was halfway done with taking his jacket off when she broke through the surface. He stilled, waiting for the sea monster to appear. When none appeared, he shrugged his jacket back on, all of a sudden very angry at himself. Why did he care what happened to one girl? Why did he care? He became wrapped up in his confusion enough that he did not notice that she had the perfect vantage point of him. She seemed to still, her body facing his when she suddenly took to shore. Damn! Damn!! He quickly ducked down and headed back for his pack. He couldn’t wait around to see when these kids would get themselves killed. He had to get the meat home or else it would spoil. If anything, this group of kids were lucky that at least one of them had to good sense to notice that they were not the only moving things here on Earth.


End file.
